Webstar opens Australasia's newest printing facility

MEDIA RELEASE

13 June 2011

Webstar opens Australasia's newest printing facility

Webstar, the specialist web printing division of Blue Star Group New Zealand, has opened a leading-edge, high-quality print facility in Auckland's west, which will grow over time to create more than 50 new full-time positions.

The facility, which has ACP Media as its foundation client, currently employs 20 local people. The new Henderson facility extends the capacity of Webstar's existing 12-year-old operation in Masterton by an additional 30 per cent.

"Whoever said that print is dead is being presumptuous in the extreme; this great new facility shows that the printed word is alive and well and being produced in west Auckland," said Warwick Hay, chief executive of Webstar Australia and New Zealand. "This new facility marks Webstar's entry into the large-scale production of magazines and will extend our ability to produce publications and other printed products of the highest quality.

"It will complement our existing Masterton-based business, which prints unaddressed catalogues, directories and other publications for the likes of Yellow Pages, the Warehouse and Foodstuffs."

The west Auckland printing facility, the newest in Australasia, will produce high-quality magazines and printed products, while offering the latest binding technology. It will also offer customers an increased range of inserts, onserts and special options that have not been available to the market before now.

High-circulation ACP Media magazines, such as New Zealand Property Press, Woman's Day, the New Zealand edition of The Australian Women's Weekly, Metro, Next and North & South will all be printed at the west Auckland facility.

With high levels of automation, coupled with speed and efficiency, the presses will set new industry benchmarks for turnaround times and waste.

The presses also come equipped with automatic colour register control, automatic blanket and ink washing technology, along with a wide range of ancillary equipment. The plant itself is designed with room for further expansion.

Webstar, which is accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, holds the highest Enviromark "Diamond" certification - the local equivalent to ISO 14000. As an ACC Tertiary certified manufacturer (the highest level), Webstar is strongly committed to continuously improving its health and safety management, total quality and environmental programmes every year.

ENDS

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